36 weeks (and 2 days)

Look at me, all on time with my photo. We went to breakfast with friends this morning so I actually got dressed in a timely manner. I don't see a big difference in my size from last week to this week, but I did gain a couple of pounds (four in two weeks, to be precise).

On that note, I was playing around with my belly photos and take a look at this... this is my 36 week photo overlaid on my 6 week photo:

How crazy is that?? Pregnancy is amazing. It is just the craziest thing to think I am carrying a baby around inside my body.

Last night we went to a holiday party. When you are walking around in your third trimester, all anyone talks about is pregnancy and babies. And birth. (More on that in a moment.) While I don't mind talking about those things, I sometimes feel kind of guilty, as if by my very presence I am forcing people to talk about nothing but babymaking. Which I know is not really my fault, but it sometimes makes me self-conscious.

Everyone seems to be telling me they think I'm going to "go early," I suppose because I'm big or carrying low or both. I really don't feel so big, but I can see it in the pictures. I wouldn't mind having the baby a week or two early, especially with my mom's travel plans being what they are, but I know that just being large and in charge does not make you go into labor!

The other thing that people love to talk about to a very pregnant woman is childbirth. Specifically, how horrible it is, how painful it is, and they especially love to tell you in great detail the horror stories about childbirth from their own experiences or family members' experiences. The more pregnant I get, the more I hear these stories. When you're 20 weeks along and looking all cute and maybe just finding out the sex, people just tell you how great you look and how exciting it is and how much you'll love having a baby. When you're 36 weeks and your labor experience is just around the corner, people tell you how YOU'RE GONNA DIE.

And, on top of that, now Mr. Ibis is getting the horror stories too. It follows the same pattern. Earlier on he got congratulations and encouragement. Now he's being told to stay by my head, do not look below my waist or he'll never have sex with me again, labor is excruciating and long and unbearable, and - this is a new one - it smells really terrible. THANK YOU, PEOPLE. This is SO helping my husband, whom I really need to be my steady labor support and whom I really want to enjoy the birth of his son, to not totally freak the eff out about having a baby. Seriously... what are these people thinking???

Other than that we are fine and dandy. I had the slightest ever hint of barely noticeable blood-tinged fluid this morning, which I am sure is just from the irritation of getting an internal yesterday. I am worrying somewhat about baby movement now that my OB planted that seed of doubt, because I am just that easily influenced.

But it is different now... I can really tell that he does not have much room to move, and also that he's maturing. He seems to sleep for long stretches of time now, and when he moves, his movements are much more slow and controlled. He really has no room to kick at all, so what I'm feeling now is either his butt or foot (sometimes both) just pushing out against my belly... sometimes moving back and forth a little. Sometimes his movement are really strong and even painful as he stretches and pushes his feet out, but often they are gentle and soft. Every once in a while - like maybe just once every few days - I feel these faint little tickles down low, which must be his little fingers grazing the womb. There are no more baby dance parties as he is just locked and loaded in starting position.

My sleep problems have been resolved by sleeping semi-reclined for at least part of the night. As soon as I feel a hint of back pain I move into that position for a while and it goes away. So I am back to sleeping fairly well, even if I do wake up often.

I'm having a lot of nasal congestion now, and mild bloody noses - nothing gushing out but just a little blood when I blow my nose (sorry, gross). Swelling is still about the same, just a little in my hands and legs. The carpal tunnel problem apparently was a one day fluke because it hasn't come back. Even my painful gas/pressure that I was having in the evenings has eased up. So I'm still doing pretty great and cruising toward D Day. I am excited to meet with our doula tomorrow and go over the birth plan.